Decades ago my late dad used to spend his Saturday afternoons watching a fun show with a truly unique premise. A man and his robot palls are stuck in space and forced to watch bad movies
Teenage me watched the show and laughed and I saw the movie, with my dad, in the theatre, twice (he was a nerd, like me).
I was a fan, but not a huge fan. Then about six years ago I rediscovered the show on netflix and became a massive fan, a MSTie.
I watched episodes repeatedly, bought boxed sets, and quoted lines back and forth with my husband. After Star Trek, it is my favorite show. There is so much to love about MST3K. The kitschy old films
the hosts
the robots
the mad scientists
Especially Frank
the songs
the Star Trek references
the educational shorts
the home made low tech sets
its all perfect. There are plenty of articles about MST3Ks influence on pop culture, but the bottom line is that its just a great show! Which is why it is so sad that it was canceled and so great that its coming back.
However, its never really left, because we have Riff Trax.
Starring three MST3K alumns, Riff Trax offers hilarious streaming commentary on mainstream films like the Twilight Saga
b movie riffs
"educational shorts"
and live shows
The live shows are my favorite. They are streamed from Nashville to theaters all over the US and are always fun. Usually John and I go to a theatre in NJ and its empty, but once we went in Manhattan and it was packed. I prefer the empty theatre. This Thursday they are riffing Time Chasersa hilariously bad 1994 film.
I already have my tickets and can't wait. If you like MST3K, kitsch, or cheesy movies you owe it to yourself to check out Riff Trax.
I'm a big fan of the modern kitsch classic-the snuggie
While a blanket with sleeves is hardly vintage, there is something very 1990s retro about the commercial (and yes the 90s are retro now). Plus the snuggy is really, really comfy. Perfect for wrapping yourself in during Star Trek marathons. When I heard there where snuggles for dogs I HAD to get them.
I started nabbing up snuggies for dogs last year and now I've completed my collection and all 5 dogs have their very own snuggie.
I dearly love everything about the Snuggie including the package it comes in. I saved one and added it to my kitsch display on the mantle in my living room. The one and only "modern" item to make it there. The kids seem to like the Snuggies fine:
Snuggies for dogs retail for between 5 and 15 dollars on Amazon and about the same on ebay. The sizing is a bit confusing and there is really very info on the site. Since its a blanket with sleeves that velcroes up the back there is a lot of wiggle room with the sizing. I got Mr. Tuvok an x-small, Fry and Ping smalls, Weasley a medium and Bob an x-large. They all fit well.
